I took a gamble on this hot off the back of the superb Groove Coaster Wai Wai Party!!!! and I'm really enjoying it so far. I've never played a Hatsune Miku game before and always assumed the music would do my head in but Groove Coaster has definitely been a gateway drug, not only to the rhythm game genre in earnest, but also to the Vocaloid stylings which make up the majority of both soundtracks. There's something perfectly arcadey and frivolous about the over-the-top autotuned plastic sheen and bouncy synths and the fact that almost every song is hook after enormous hook.

Where Groove Coaster does a lot with its more minimalist and abstract background images, with the focus being on the syncopated patterns and the diverse input combinations of swirling analogue sticks and Taiko Drum Master fills, Hatsune Miku is more like Parappa where it's predominantly a case of pressing the four face buttons to match the vocal syllables as the performer stars in a music video. That's a simplification but I find Groove Coaster a bit more to my immediate preference because it seems to concentrate on the rhythms and instrumentation whereas Project DIVA is about the songs. That's a simplification, too, but a fair one.

While Groove Coaster does have a considerable degree of customisation with different avatars and sound and visual effects, as well as a cast of 'navigators' who talk you through the menus and so on, this game is much more focused on its eponymous star and her colleagues (I assume). The visuals generally take the form of a music video/dance routine and while it's hard to watch what's going on as well as following the imminent inputs, there's a sense of spectacle which adds to the charm. I do find it the whole virtual pop idol thing a bit alien but it seems pretty harmless. There's a lot of customisation as well if you're so inclined but I haven't really looked into that much.

It's apparently a retrospective on the whole Hatsune Miku series, as the name suggests, and there are over 100 songs in the base game with a shit load coming as DLC, as ever. There does seem to be a lot of music here, though, and a lot of challenge. Normal is certainly tough enough for me at the moment. One of the most fun things is that the last third/quarter of any song breaks into a high-scoring high-risk hyper mode with more varied and complex inputs and it always makes for a fun and exciting finish.

It's currently only on the Japanese eShop but a Western release is due at some point in 2020. While the menus are in Japanese for the most part, it's incredibly easy to understand because the UI is very clear and obvious and there's some English sprinkled throughout. I don't know exactly what's happened to me but this is another belting Japanese rhythm game with made-up pop singers that I would really recommend.

This is my favourite song in the game. It's pretty challenging even on Easy but this is a my record so far. This is absolutely packed with content, one of the best rhythm games I've ever played. The videos are often really funny and clever. This one is more goofy but the song is great.

Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA X for PS4 is £13 on the Playstation Store right now. I've never bothered getting round to buying one but have always enjoyed the demos. This Switch version being a collection of tracks from the other games would seem to make it a good starting point.

Wow, it's so weird to see the UI with Switch icons instead of Playstation ones.

I am a long time fan of the series, but my interest in it has waned a bit recently. I think the last Vita title, I barely played beyond unlocking the basic songs. However, I played the arcade game a bit recently which has made me hungry for this. I reckon I pick it up in time.

This is my favourite song in the game. It's pretty challenging even on Easy but this is a my record so far. This is absolutely packed with content, one of the best rhythm games I've ever played. The videos are often really funny and clever. This one is more goofy but the song is great.

I would never have given the music more than about a second until I played Groove Coaster, but there's something really fun and weird about this stuff. I think it helps to take it as an arcade game in the first instance, rather than something you'd listen to away from the game, but after a few days of developing favourites, I've absolutely been blasting catchy Vocaloid and J-pop in the car and on headphones and loving it. There's an initial barrier because some of the textures and sounds are jarring but that's the case with a lot of stuff I love and once you get past that weird feeling, you start to feel that it scratches a very particular itch.

Aesthetically, I can see it being off-putting as well but I've dressed them up (!) in the most modest and unrevealing clothes. I've no interest in fan service, and while I've become slightly desensitised through playing a lot of Japanese games now, I would still much rather keep it wholesome. There more revealing options but I swerve all that.

The gameplay is also considerably more involving and challenging if you play even on Normal, so if Easy looks boring, there's a much higher skill ceiling. It's just that's about my level for the moment! I'm pretty new to these games but they do push certain buttons in terms of precision which appeal to me in the same way as shmups and fighting games.

Also, I didn't want to bump the thread but I saw the news, and I'm really sorry to hear that you're going through a tough family time at the moment, and I'm sending my best wishes, for what that's worth.

Played way more of Diva F on the Vita than I ever expected to, and have been looking for a good rhythm game on Switch to scratch the same itch for yonks, but never pulled the trigger on yer Voezes/Deemos.

This was bought immediately, bundled with the DLC, so I'll basically never need another rhythm game again. It's ace. Hard as you like, with some absolute bangers, and they even give you the option to use Playstation controller Markers for those like me who would otherwise spend approx. their entire lifespan trying to adjust to wherever the fuck the X/Y buttons actually are on Joycons.